Usually
I start off my race report with the day prior to the race, and I am driving to
the pre-race briefing.† For this report,
I want to flashback to give a fuller understanding of the human (read
imperfect) issues that have to be overcome during an ultra race.

In
May of 2003, I was diagnosed with Asthma.†
My father is an asthmatic and was also diagnosed in his early 30s, and
heredity caught with me even though I am a runner.† Fortunately, my asthma has been very
controllable.† After a few months, I had
reduced my Advair to once a day, and I generally never fell any asthmatic
symptoms.† The vast majority of the time I wonder if I still need the Advair.† Then allergy season hits or I get a good
cold, and I am reminded that I am an asthmatic and the Advair is quite
effective at allowing my body to overcome and preventing issues from worsening
(e.g., getting an upper respiratory infection).†
Most spring times, I find that I experience some allergy symptoms, but
nothing that affects my lungs.

This
year, the allergy season seems to be one of the worst in a long time.† Since the middle of April, my allergies have
been definitely kicking my tail, and in the last two weeks I have felt some
effect on my breathing but not enough to be measured by my peak flow rate.† A little over a week before the race, I up my
Advair to twice a day.† This is the
maximum for my prescription.† A week
before race day I run seven strong miles on the trails.† Everything feels good.† I think I am as prepared as possible.

May
14 (Wednesday)

I
wake-up at 1:44am, and my throat is burning.†
I take a Cold-eeze lozenge for starters.† Either I am getting a cold or I have an
infection.† After much zinc (from both
Cold-eeze and Zicam), my
throat is tolerable, and otherwise, I feel fine.† I continue to take Cold-eeze
or Zicam all the way through Friday.

May
16 (Friday)

My
cold seems to be under control.† I feel
good, and only the sore throat is nagging me.†
Martha and I pick Nathan up from school at 12:45pm.† Amy has decided to spend the weekend with
Marthaís parents.† We arrive at the Skyland Ranch, which is the race start, finish, and
headquarters, at 3:45pm.† Nathan and I
check into the race and listen to the race briefing while Martha checks into
our cabin.† Our cabin is a modular thing
that doesnít come with linens.† The race
briefing is informative in regards to the condition of the trails.† We are told the trails are wet and wetter
than they have ever been during the race.

I
wish good luck to several people and ask Gary Knipling if he is going to go out
conservatively.† He says he is and that
he will probably not see me on the course.†
For dinner, we go into Front Royal to an Italian restaurant.† I have spaghetti and sausage with plenty of
salad and bread.† I get to bed around
9:00pm with my alarm set for 4:00am.

May
17

I
sleep very well.† I have also gotten
between 7-8 hours of sleep every night this week.† I get ready, putting on shorts, a
short-sleeve shirt, long-sleeve shirt, and buff.† I will start the race with Keen Wasatch Crest
shoes and plan to switch shoes 3 or 4 times.†
I eat a large blueberry muffin and wash it down with a pint of chocolate
milk.† 15 minutes before the start of the
race, I eat an Access Bar.† I feel great
with only my sore throat nagging me.† The
race starts exactly at 5:00am.

Mile
2.4††††† 23:05 (9:37
avg./mile) MT Trailhead

The
start of my race is smooth, and I run the first mile with David Snipes.† He pushes ahead, and I am determined to run
conservatively early in this race.†
Overall, I feel good, but my throat is sore.† However, I am sure I wonít notice my throat
in several hours when other parts of my body start hurting.† At this aid station, I drop my 2000
Pittsburgh Marathon long-sleeve t-shirt as I am warm enough without it.

Mile
8.7††††† 1:28:19 (14:01 avg./mile) Shawl Gap Parking

This
first trail portion is wetter than normal, but it is really not a factor.† I manage to keep my feet dry for now.† Many people are passing me, but I am running
conservatively.† Rande
and Kari Brown run with me most of this section.† Kari is gunning for a silver buckle as the
first VHTRC female.† My time into this
aid station is okay, but not very fast.†
At the aid station I drink some chocolate milk and take a bagel with me.

Mile
11.8††† 37:27 (12:05 avg./mile)
Veach Gap Parking

This
section is all along a gravel road.† I
pass the time talking with a guy from Massachusetts about energy supplies and
the price of oil.† At the aid station, a
full breakfast is available.† I am not too
hungry, but I grab two pancakes and a sausage link.

Mile
16.9††† 1:18:33 (15:24 avg./mile) Milford
Gap

Leaving
Veach Gap parking area, I hike up the second climb of
the race.† I think I am making okay time,
but the climb is not as easy as it should be at this point in the race.† This aid station is unique because they have
to haul the supplies in over trails.† I
grab several cups of Gatorade and eat two ham and cheese sandwich
quarters.† My time is definitely slower
than previous years, but I donít know this at the time.

Mile
24.4††† 1:41:42 (13:34 avg./mile) Habron Gap Parking

I
continue to cruise along, not really worrying about my time or pace.† This section has a nice downhill and then
another three mile road section.† I
talked most of the way with Gary from Louisville.† He is very interesting because he is an
independent consultant and salesman.† We
run easily into the aid station, and I am ready to begin pushing the pace a
little on the next section.† But, first
at the aid station, I eat a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, which Martha has
perfectly cooked.† I change shoes, out of
my Keens and into a pair of Innov-8s.† My
Keens werenít very muddy, just a little wet.†
I tell Martha and Nathan to try to dry them out as I might need them
again.† With a full stomach, I leave Habron for the tough climb up over the ridge.

Mile
33.3††† 2:39:53 (17:58 avg./mile) Camp Roosevelt

Even
though I hold my own with the people around me on the climb, I am really
feeling it.† My lungs feel fine, but my
breathing seems to be a lot harder than usual.†
I push the pace a little on the climb and pass a couple of people.† On the way down the other side, I run with
Bob Anderson most of the way.† He is 61
years old, and we compare notes from his race last year when he won the 60+ age
group.† He says he doesnít do this for
the competition, just for the outdoor enjoyment and to keep his cholesterol and
blood pressure down.† I come into the aid
station, and it seems like it has taken me longer than it should have.† At the two hour mark, I was starving and felt
weak from a lack of calories even though I have been shoveling in the
food.† At that point, I ate an Access
Bar, which helped me get to the aid station.†
At this aid station, I drink some chocolate milk, and eat as much as I
can.† I start with a couple of sandwich
quarters, followed by a few cookies (some nice homemade chocolate chip), and
wash it down with several cups of Gatorade.†
Hereís hoping that I can get ahead of the calorie deficit.

Mile
38.9††† 1:52:43 (20:08 avg./mile) Gap Creek/Jawbone I

It
is only midday, but my times have slowed even further.† Usually in a 100 miler, I hit my stride
around 25 miles and pick up the pace a little for the next 40 miles before I
start slowing down around 65 miles because of fatigue and darkness.† This section of trail is nasty muddy.† The little stream that we cross three times
on the way up is now a raging river.† It
is almost knee deep and 15 feet across.†
That isnít bad, though.† Next the
trail turns into a complete bog in places, and once we start downhill towards
the aid station, the trail is muddy and rocky with the kind of mud in which one
could easily lose a shoe.† There is one
interesting thing alongside the trail.† A
large rattle snake is just two feet off the trail, coiled up, and shaking his
rattle constantly.† It is neat to see,
and fortunately, he doesnít seem to notice us runners passing on the other side
of the trail.† At this aid station, I change
my shoes again.† This pair is totally
mucked up, and I have no desire to wear them again.† In my shoes, my socks were all over the
place, and there is quite a bit of sand in the bottoms of my shoes.† I put on my Asics Eagle Vs.† I also, consume a few grilled cheese sandwich
quarters and drink over a pint of Conquest.†
I wasnít planning on eating this much, but the way I am burning through
calories, I think I need to.† My crew is
doing an awesome job, and they tell me that my Keens that I wore the first 24
miles are now mostly dry.† My time at
this point is much slower than I expected, but I chalk it up to trail
conditions.† However, in hindsight, the
trail shouldnít have slowed me down that much.

Mile
44.9††† 1:57:20 (19:33 avg./mile) Unmanned

An
hour out of Gap Creek, and I am again hungry.†
I wait as long as I can before eating my Access Bar.† Hereís hoping the unmanned aid station has
anything more than water.† I am careful
on Kernís Mountain because this is where I fell three years ago and split my
chin open.† My time isnít good, but Quatro is here at this aid station, restocking the
water.† There are also some cookies and
corn chips.† I take several and continue
on the trail.† My time isnít good, but
hopefully I can pick things up on the next section.

Mile
48.0††† 57:47 (18:38 avg./mile)
211 East I

Now
this little 3.1 mile section should have been a lot faster than this.† The first part was going down waterfall, and
needless to say I wasnít walking.† Then
we come out onto the gravel road leading to 211 East, and I was running
well.† Fortunately, I donít figure out
how slow my times are, but rather I am focused on continuing to move
forward.† At this aid station, Martha and
Nathan are patiently waiting with Ramen noodles and hash browns.† I eat/drink all of the noodles and eat one of
the hash browns.† For now, I stick with
the same shoes, and they are staying dry so far.† Since it is past 5:00pm, and actually around
5:40pm, I take my headlamp with me.† I
have 10 miles to get back to here before I see my crew again.

Mile
53.1††† 1:52:32 (22:04 avg./mile) Bird Knob

I
climb up Bird Knob and think I am doing okay, but then I realize that I am only
about halfway up.† My climbing is
laborious, and I am trying to figure out how many more climbs I have in the
race.† On the way up, I meet David
Snipes, Rande and Kari Brown, and Brad Smythe, who are all on their way back down.† They are in a really good position because
they will be back to 211 East before dark.†
It takes me 45 minutes after I see Snipes until I get to the aid
station, so he has at least an hour and a half lead on me.† When I see him, I am sucking air big time,
and he asks if I am doing okay.† I am
still on the positive side, so of course I say I am fine.† The good part so far is that I am ahead of
Gary Knipling, who is clearly taking the conservative approach this year.† At this wonderful aid station, I eat a cup of
chicken and rice.† I then decide that it
is time to start drinking Coke as darkness is approaching.† I eat some Doritos and then start to head
back.

Mile
58.2††† 1:49:28 (21:28 avg./mile) 211 East II

I
am most of the way down from the steep part on Bird Knob before I have to turn
on my headlamp.† I feel okay, and I
figure now all I have to do is not slow down in the darkness.† I meet Gary Knipling on the way down, and he
is about 40 minutes behind me.† He looks
okay and seems as chipper as ever.† I
take my time and get into the aid station around 9:30pm.† Mike Campbell is there waiting along with
Martha and Nathan, and Mike is going to pace me through the night.† I eat a ham and cheese sandwich and wash it
down with some chocolate milk.† I am
ready to attack the night, and Mike and I set off across 211 and towards the
north.

Mile
64.9††† 2:49:00 (25:13 avg./mile) Gap Creek/Jawbone II

Mike and I seem to be making good time to me, but on
our way to the aid station, we have to again navigate the muckiest
trail on the course.† It hasnít dried out
any since I was on it earlier, and a small shower decides to drop some rain on
us.† I still only have a short sleeve
shirt on, and I am planning to put something else on at the aid station, but
for now, the wind is blowing, the rain is falling, and I am cold.† The only option I have is to run, so I
run.† The course is a total mess, and I run
through the mud, water, and muck.† It is
difficult going, and I finally reach the aid station.† My crew is wet and cold as well, but I am
still determined.† I drink another cup of
Coke and eat some grilled cheese sandwich quarters.† I also put on another shirt,
this one is long-sleeved.† The rain has
stopped for now, so I should be fine.† My
feet hurt as both big toe nails are probably shot, but otherwise, I canít
complain.† I switch shoes, yet again, and
put on my second pair of Keens.† It is
time to push through the night.† If I can
get over Short Mountain before dawn I should be in good shape.

Mile
67.7††† 1:18:29 (28:02 avg./mile) Moreland Gap

Believe it or not, it actually felt like I sped up a
little on this section.† The climb up
Jawbone was slow as expected, but then Mike and I got into a really good rhythm
coming into the aid station.† Martha and
Nathan are still crewing faithfully, and I eat two servings of oatmeal and wash
it down with a cup of Coke.† I hope that
is enough calories to get me over Short Mountain.† I havenít thought about time yet, but I am
hoping that I can get over Short Mountain in less than 3.5 hours.† Three hours would be fabulous, and then I can
think about dropping the hammer come dawn on Powellís Mountain.† Since it is already past 1:30am, I think I
have enough clothing for the rest of the night.†
If I keep moving well, then I will stay warm enough.† It seems like the rain has passed for now,
and the moon is out and shining bright.

Mile
75.9††† 4:17:34 (31:25 avg./mile) Edinburg Gap

The climb up to the ridge
of Short Mountain was brutal on me.† I
just cannot seem to climb very well at all.†
I also start to figure out what different times on this section will do
to my chances of finishing.† If it takes
me four hours on this section and the next and then two hours into Powellís
Fort, three hours to Elizabeth Furnace, and two hours to the finish, I will
finish with 15 minutes to spare on the cut-off.† Given this figuring, I definitely need to be
into Edinburg in less than four hours.†
About halfway over Short Mountain, my energy is again spent.† Sleepiness has not been a problem so far, but
my energy is low, and I can no longer keep any semblance of good forward
progress.† As we are coming down the hill
in Edinburg, the sun begins to overcome darkness, and this is not a good thing
for me.† The night has passed too
quickly.† At the aid station, I get a cup
of the world famous potato soup.† It is
delicious.† Then I check my feet.† Despite hurting greatly, I really donít have
any blisters that will cause me problems.†
My big toe nails are busted, but for now that wonít slow me down.† The problem is that I donít know how I would
be able to get enough calories in me and then get the motivation cranked up to
get over the next section to Woodstock Tower.†
So, despite my will to continue, I decide that it is futile.† I turn my number in, and Martha is not
surprised.† She tells me later that she
knew I was spent, and therefore doesnít try to argue against me stopping.† She has seen me through all five of my
100-mile finishes, and she knows when I can go on, and when I canít.

105th
out of 156 starters (101 finishers)

There end up
being 101 finishers for this edition of the MMT.† Everyone that left Edinburg aid station
finished under the time cut-off.† This
makes me pause, but then I say that by that point you know if it is your day or
not.† A total of eight people drop at
Edinburg, and I would bet all of us would say that the reason everyone who went
further finished was because we made the wise decision not to go on.†

I will spend
the better part of the next week mulling over whether I had more to expend, and
whether I could have done something different.†
What brought it into perspective was when a friend on Sunday night asked
me if I had my cold before the race started.†
In my pain and pity, I hadnít consciously thought about my cold, but his
question reminded me that I have had this cold since the Wednesday before the
race, and it isnít any better.† I
eventually go to the doctor on Friday and get some antibiotics to eradicate any
infection that may have set into my sinuses, but otherwise, I am okay.

So, in the
end, I will chalk this race up to a great experience in which I learned more
about myself.† On another day, without so
much mud on the course and better health, things might have been different.† But on this weekend in 2008 with the mud,
rain, and my cold, the course has claimed another victim.† This is a good thing, though, because if it
was easier, it wouldnít mean as much.† A
finish at MMT whether in 18 hours or 35 hours is still a great accomplishmentóone
that I have claimed once, and one day may claim again.